Grade 5 Classroom Chemistry

BECOMING A CHEMIST! 

Igniting Curiosity through the power of observation.

Jocelyn Monteith ~ Grade 5 Math/Science

Last week students spent time in the science lab testing a variety of materials (salt, sand, oil, and an Alka-Seltzer tablet) to see what happens when they are mixed with water: what dissolves, what reacts and what remains unaffected.

Students hypothesized what they thought would happen based on what they already knew about each of the materials. While conducting each test, students captured their observations in words, images and videos. As you could imagine, the lab was buzzing with excitement, students eagerly calling their teacher over, wanting to share what they had observed, attempting to explain the science behind what happened.

Co-Constructing Criteria in Mathematics

Erin Couillard and Carolyn Armstrong
Grade 6 Math/Science

Not two weeks into this school year, my math teaching partner, Carolyn Armstrong, and I were lamenting the disarray and disorganization of student math journals. We commented to each other that the work that some of the students were producing was very disorganized, diagrams were drawn without rulers, answers were buried deep within the work and we were finding it hard to get a good sense of the student’s overall understanding of the problem.

I had the good fortune of attending a two-day Anne Davies workshop in Canmore last week and she reinforced the importance of co-constructing criteria with students. I came back very excited to do this with Carolyn and our students around “what counts in an organized math notebook”.

Grade 5 Math Problem

Valerie Barnes and Jocelyn Monteith
Grade 5 Math/Science

Grade 5 students were recently given the following math problem. The assignment, feedback, submission and assessment steps are taking place in Edmodo. It has been great to see the comments on the assignment page where students are offering feedback, asking questions, and assisting with technical support. Assignments are due this week may the force be with them.

Science Mentorship with Telus Spark and RVSD

Our grade 8 students and teachers are very fortunate to be working with Telus Spark and schools from the Rocky View School Division in the Science Communication Mentorship Program. Our students will be working with Telus Spark Exhibit Developers, members of APEGA, and Telus Spark Facilitators in creating exhibits for a public celebration of learning at Telus Spark on December 4, 2013.

Our RIG "You be the Wires" 

Teachers from the two divisions met at Telus Spark on August 30, 2013 to discuss the project and participate in a RIG process (Random Idea Generator) in their prototype lab. The Calgary Science School grade 8's will be visiting Spark on October 1, 2013 to work with exhibit developers to begin the process of creating their own Spark exhibits. We are looking into the possibility of creating our own prototype lab at the school with the support of Telus Spark to support the planning phase of the project.